The Demons missed out on the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft on Sunday night.
“That was awesome,” Kurtz said. “Seeing Chase get picked early and Seaver get the 10th pick, it was a whole bunch of emotions. I’m so happy and proud of them. We’ve all worked so hard for this moment.”
The only other school to have three top-10 picks was Rice in 2004, when right-handers Philip Humber (Mets) and Jeff Niemann (Rays) were selected third and fourth overall, respectively, before right-hander Wade Townsend was selected eighth by the Orioles.
Excluding Wake Forest this year and Rice in 2004, a pair of teammates have been selected in the top 10 together just 11 times, including last year’s top two picks, LSU’s Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews.
“Being on a varsity baseball team, you spend countless hours together every day,” Kurtz said. “Early mornings, late nights, long days. This just goes to show what the Wake Forest baseball department is building. We’ve had two straight years of top 10 finishes, three guys in the top 10 this year, went to Omaha last year and are doing well again this year. I feel like it’s only going to get better from here and I’m proud to be a Wake Forest Demon Deacon.”
Barnes was named the 2024 ACC Pitcher of the Year, a Dick Howser Award finalist and a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. He was ranked No. 6 in the draft by MLB Pipeline after posting a 10-1 record with a 2.70 ERA and a school-record 191 strikeouts in 16 starts at Wake Forest University.
“Chase has the ability to be a top major league starting pitcher and will do so quickly,” Reds director of amateur scouting Joe Katuska said. “We always start with Chase’s profile in a draft, and he checks all the boxes. He has great quality and depth of delivery and competitive drive. He’s made great strides since we first saw him pitch four years ago, and we expect him to continue on that same trajectory.”
This will be the second consecutive year that the Reds have selected a Wake Forest University pitcher with their first pick in the draft after selecting right-hander Rhett Roeder with the seventh overall pick in 2023.
“The pitching practice room that they have is no joke,” Barnes said. “Going in there and practicing with all the new technology that’s coming into baseball, learning how to move better and honing my mental game has really helped me take my game to the next level.”
Kurtz batted .306 with 22 home runs and 57 RBIs for the Demon Deacons in 2024, earning All-ACC First Team honors. He led the nation with 78 walks and 42 strikeouts while posting a .531 on-base percentage and .763 slugging percentage. He was named to the All-ACC First Team in 2023 and Third Team in 2022, and is the No. 7 overall draft prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
King appeared in 60 games in 2024, batting .308 with 16 home runs, 64 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and 59 runs scored to help lead Wake Forest University to the Greenville Regional in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. He also recorded a .377 on-base percentage, a .577 slugging percentage and recorded at least one hit in 48 games, including 24 games with multiple hits.
Ranked the No. 17 prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline, King recorded 21 multi-RBI games, including eight games with three or more RBI. King reached the semifinals of the Dick Howser Award and was named to the All-ACC Third Team following his outstanding junior season.
“I knew I would be the third. [from Wake Forest]”I hope that ages 12-24 are on my radar,” King said. “The last thing they wanted to talk about was baseball, so me and Kurtz were always playing Call of Duty and not worrying about anything. It was awesome when Barnes got second, and then Kurtz was right behind him in fourth, and it was so surreal. At that point, I knew my moment was next and I didn’t have to worry about the other guys, they were all set. At that point, I just settled on my feet, enjoyed the moment and took it all in.”
